The stupid choice
by Rose-Bud
Summary: As a result of the second complaint that the title doesn't match the story, I changed it to 'The stupid choice.' That choice was to take the job sitting for the Smiths. Wasn't that dumb?
1. Default Chapter Title

**Disclaimer**I only own Mrs. Smith, Kaye, and Joseph. Ann M. Martin had the rest.

Kristy glared at us all."This meeting of the Baby-sitter's club will NOW COME TO ORDER!"

"Get real, Kristy."I said lazily, rolling over."It's too hot to think."Just then, the phone rang, and Kristy picked it up, not dropping the scowl from her face.

"Hello?"_New client!_She mouthed at us."Yes, may I ask you a few questions?"

She drilled the person in the other end of the line, and smiled slightly. 

"Hm.Well see who's available.Could we call back in a few minutes?Great."She hung up.Mary Ann looked up expectantly.Kristy gave her all the boring details, which the rest of us ignored.

"Well?When do they need a sitter?"Claudia asked, suddenly waking up.

"Thursday.Six kids.One's eleven, one's nine, one's seven, one's five, one's three, and there's a one year old."Mary Ann scanned the things she had written in her incredibly neat handwriting."Stacey, I think that you are the only person.Mrs. Smith says that she only needs one sitter."

"Great!"I said."How long?"

"Um.Two hours."Mary Ann glanced up."Kristy, aren't you going to call her back?"

"I am."Kristy had already dialed half the number."Hello?Hi Mrs. Smith.Stacey McGill is going to baby-sit.You know her mother?Good.Okay, bye." She hung up.

That was the only call we had all day.Little did I know how much that day would come back to haunt me.

ON THURSDAY

"Hello?Is your mom here?"I asked the kid who had opened to door uncertainly.I thought the oldest was eleven.The girl looked about…fifteen!Did I have the wrong house?

"Oh, you're Stacey.Yeah, come in."She opened the door wider.I stepped in, relieved.

Mrs. Smith was in a huge hurry, and she fairly flew out the door.The only instructions were yelled over her shoulder."If you need anything, ask Kaye!"And she was gone.

"Are you Kaye?"I said timidly.Kaye smiled.

"Uh-huh. But just so I don't scare you out of your wits sometime, I have a strange tendency to start talking to myself with an Irish accent."She paused."Or Spanish or Brooklyn.And Joseph might start breaking things, so be advised.And don't panic!"


	2. Chapter 2

She led me down to a room with about five computers."Wow!"I gazed around in awe."How many computers do you _have?"_

"Six, I think.One's in my room."She put her head inside the room."You all still alive in here?"

"I want to get into the garbage smasher, don't you?"came a kid's voice.I froze.Kaye noticed my anxiety and grinned. 

"Relax.They mean on a Star Wars game they have."She rolled her eyes.I smiled a little.

"Hey you guys?I'm Stacey, and I'm babysitting."I stepped into the room.It was a horrible mess.The boys never glanced away from the computer screen.

"Hey, you!This is Stacey.Say hi."Kaye gave her brothers a look that rivaled Kristy's, and put her hands on her hips.

"Hi."Only one answered.

"Earth to R2D2!" Kaye waved a hand in front of the computer."Say hi!"

"Hi."

"Hi."

I don't think they ever noticed they were talking.

Kaye was holding back laughter at my expression."This is Jacob, and this is Joseph, and this is Joshua."She said, pointing to each in turn.I looked doubtfully at Joseph.Kaye looked too.

"Yo, Joseph.You break anything, I confiscate this darn game."She waved in the general direction of the computer.He stuck his tongue out.

"Dumbo-heads!"he glared at us."I wanted Melanie to baby-sit us!"

"Our usual babysitter."Kaye explained."Jacob, where's Joy?"

"I don't know.She went off down the hall."Jacob's voice came from somewhere far away.

"Oh no!"Kaye dashed down the hall, and snagged the one-year-old before she got to the bathroom.

On the way back, she kicked open a door."Celeste!Stacey's here."A girl about nine was lounging on a queen-sized bed that was _piled_ with junk.She turned a page in the book she was reading, and ignored us.Kaye shrugged and walked on.

"Don't mess with her.She can get nasty."

From the room that contained the boys came a scream.

"Joseph!What'd you do to Joshua?"Kaye sounded unconcerned.

"Nothing!"Joseph yelled."He hit me."This was added sullenly.

Joshua came into the hallway, tears streaming down his face.I gave him a hug.

"Are you okay?"

_"Wahhhhh!"_he said.I looked meaningfully at Kaye, who just gazed back. 

"Happens every five minutes."And she slouched into a hard chair in front of a computer.

I gulped.There was more to this family than met the eye….and none of it good!__


	3. Chapter 3

I struggled for control, and walked stiffly over to Kaye."Where ya going?Oh….FanFiction?"I stared blankly at the screen.I know _nothing_ about computers.

"Yup."Kaye was typing in a little box.

Then there was a loud scream, at which I'm sure I jumped two feet in the air.

"I found it first!Give it back!It's mine!"

"No!I found it!I get _AHHHHHHHHH!He bit me!"_Jacob came over to me and held up his arm.Though I looked as hard as I could, I didn't see anything.But I rubbed it, and he went back to his Star Wars game, wiping away utterly unnecessary tears.

"I'm hungry."Joseph got up and stomped out of the room, chewing on the Jelly Bean he had so valiantly fought for.Joshua got up and followed, tripping and hitting his head in the process.The babysitter in me whispered that I should go with them, but I stupidly ignored it.

After about ten minutes of blessed silence, Kaye glanced from the story she was reading.

"Been quiet too long."She followed the same path her brothers had taken, with me on her heels.At the kitchen doorway, she stopped and said something under her breath.

"Jieys!"

I blinked._Jieys?!_That was something I'd never heard before.When she saw me, she grinned.

"That's the way Ronan says Geeze."Kaye explained.

"Uh, Ronan?"

"Uh-huh.An Irish wizard."She explained absently.She caught sight of my face."Never mind.A fictional character.A kid from a book."

But I wasn't paying attention.I had seen what she had been muttering about.Joshua was sitting on a table completely covered in jam.There was jam on the walls too.And the floors.

"Oh, heck."I moaned.

Kaye gazed at the mess for a moment, then went to the stairs."Yo, Celeste!Come get Joshua!"

"Do it yourself."It was the girl who had been on the big bed.Kaye heaved an enormous sigh, and walked down the stairs.

"Celeste Smith, you can clean up Joshua or the kitchen, take your pick."

"Joshua, come down here!"Celeste called up the stairs, never stirring from her bed.

"You shouldn't bring him in you room unless you like grape jam on your carpet."Kaye turned and left Celeste to think about that.

Then Kaye came back to the kitchen."You'd better go watch my other brothers, or something much worse'll happen.I'll clean this up."

I was only too glad to let her.

However, only five minutes after I got back down, there was a shriek from the bathroom.When I dashed in there, I seriously began thinking of bailing out and leaving Kaye to baby-sit.She seemed capable.

The one-year-old, Joy, was in the toilet.Don't ask me how she got there, I don't want to think about it.But she was there, standing upright in the toilet bowl.


	4. Chapter 4

I almost burst into tears, thinking that I was glad I was an only child.As I stood, mutely staring at the baby, Celeste walked in.

"Joy!What are you doing there?"Celeste dragged Joy out, set her in the tub."Now, you stay there until I can get some clean clothes for you."And she trotted off, adding,

"Stacey, please undress her."

I just stared at her retreating back, then shook myself.Celeste came back in about two minutes, and helped me change Joy's clothes.Then she disappeared back into her messy room.What other baby-sitting training had I missed by living in such a small family?

I picked up the baby and carried her to the room full of computers, then shut the door firmly behind me.

With the comforting background sounds of boys arguing over whether or not they should jump off the cliff,(Star Wars game again) I sat in a chair and began reading an interesting looking book.

About halfway into the first chapter, Kaye came back down, holding a pile of purple rags at arms length.She kicked a door at the end of the hall open, and tossed the towels in.

After washing her hands, she skipped into the computer room, andbegan reading just as intently.But she was reading on that weird website, FanFiction or whatever it was.She read fast. Her favorite section seemed to be something called 'Young Wizards'.

Suddenly realizing that my eyes hurt from trying to read on the computer from across the room, I glanced down at the book I held in my hands.Silver On the Tree, by Susan Cooper.

When Kaye went to get a drink of water, she idly read the title.

"Oh, you shouldn't start with that one.The first is The Dark is Rising.I'll go get it."

A couple seconds after she went into the room, she yelled,"Which one of you took this **library** cassette and pulled the tape out?Which one?!"She emerged with a tape in her hand, a look of fury on her face."This is on my card, and it's due in two days.**Who did it?**" 

Needless to say, no one answered.

Kaye just glared at them,(even **Kristy **can't glare like that) then deliberately walked over to the computer that they were working on and punched a button.When a little tray popped out, she took a CD from off it, and took the CD into her room.

"No Star Wars 'till I know who did this."She added over her shoulder.

I fell back into my chair, and wondered if I ever should have taken this job.


	5. Chapter 5

In case you're not a sitter, (or a sibling) three angry boys can make a **lot** of noise.And Jacob, Joseph and Joshua were three angry boys.Not only that, they were three angry boys who were victims of a massive sugar overdose.I think that Mr. and Mrs. Smith ought to hire those three out as haunted-house ghosts.(Or banshees)

"Staceyyyyyyy!Make her give my game back!"It was Jacob.

"No!It's my game!"Joseph.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"(Sound familiar?)

I got myself some pretty deep scratches separating those two.Joshua mostly just screamed, and attempted to drown us all.His clothes were soaking wet by the time he stopped crying.

"Kaye!"I called, "Will you please give the game back?"

"No!Not unless the idiot who ruined the tape pays for it!"Kaye could be as bad as the boys sometimes.

Jacob was more insistent.He was already barging into Kaye's bedroom, and holding up and large (toy!) truck."If you don't give it back, I'll throw this at you!"

Kaye ignored him, but I was having a hard time doing the same.That was a heavy truck.I didn't feel up to telling Mr. and Mrs. Smith,"Well, sorry guys.I let Jacob throw this really big truck at Kaye, and now you're gonna have to replace the window in her room.

I rubbed my head, and went up behind Jacob, pulling the truck gently out of his hands."Sorry Jacob.No way."

This was the toughest job I'd ever had, and I was sure it was about to get harder.

Joseph came pounding down the stairs (That scared me.I hadn't even realized he'd gone up) with a knife in his hands."I'll cut you unless you give that back!"Joseph and Jacob are a lot alike.It was just a butter knife, but letting him try wouldn't be smart at all.

"No, you won't."My head hurt."Give me that knife."I held out my hand, and he slashed it in my direction.

"Ouch!"I yanked my hand back, and examined the red line on my hand.

This would, of course, be the time that I heard Celeste yelling."Oh my gosh!Baby, **why do you do such stupid things?**" 

I didn't think I wanted to know what she was talking about.As I raced up the stairs, leaving Joseph and Jacob to lunge at each other again, I began praying.It didn't work.

The second I saw the kitchen table, (yes, another mess on that poor piece of furniture) I slumped against the wall, and just groaned.

The baby had managed to create chaos beyond anything even the Pikes could ever dream of.Working together.She had tipped over a bottle of syrup, and then dumped a bowl of granola right onto the syrup.This is **not** the kind of thing a babysitter wants to see.

Kaye had come running at Celeste's shouted question, too.When I noticed that even **she** looked horrified, I decided to tell the other members of the BSC (providing **I** survived, of course) to make sure they had a will written before they came to sit for these kids. 

"Creative solutions."Kaye muttered, after she calmed down, and looked thoughtfully at the table."Well, we couldn't make much more mess if we tried, could we?So let's try this."

As I stared at her, she causally walked toward the sink, and pulled a water pitcher out from under it.After she filled it with water, she came back to us, and **poured it over Joy!**Joy screamed, and struggled, but she was a lot less sticky.And so was the table.

"Okay.Celeste, go get.. um.. some clean clothes, and a big pile of tea-towels.Go!" 

That baby ran through clothes pretty fast, as I learned while helping Kaye scrub at the syrup.By the way, syrup isn't exactly easy to clean.And we had a whole brand-new bottles-worth waiting for us.

The narrator has ceased to be Stacey, and now it's the humble (um?) author of this story.

All right, so I sound a bit like I'm repeating myself.But the jam episode and the syrup event really did happen to me, and quite far apart.In fact, the syrup thing just took place today, while I cleaned up an entire kitchen covered in jam two years ago.

And no, in case you're wondering, I didn't pour water on my sister.That came straight from my imagination.One of the few things that did, actually.I must give credit to my crazy brothers and sisters for diving me insane, and giving me plenty of writing material in the process.::sticks out tongue::

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who reviewed!This story is dedicated to you.

Rose-Bud


	6. Chapter 6

While Kaye and I were cleaning up the syrup, the boys downstairs were attempting to kill each other.Our pleasant task was made much more bearable by the loud screaming and 

yelling from downstairs.It was a good thing I'd had so much experience baby-sitting the Pikes, or Heaven only knows what I would've done.

As I stared in dismay at the rapidly shrinking pile of dish-rags, Joshua came stomping up the stairs.(when he comes up the stairs he really **stomps**)_Thump.Thump.Thump._He made just as much noise when he tried to tell us you what he said.I looked hopelessly at Kaye.

She rolled her eyes and groaned,"Go get the hair-sprayer," at Celeste.Celeste nodded and actually did what she was told for once.(that is **very** rare, just for the record) I didn't have the faintest idea what she was talking about.

I didn't have that much time to think about it though, because just then Joshua decided to drop a glass plate almost on top of his sister.

Okay, I think I'll stop here.;-)Yes, I really would leave you wondering what Kaye wants the hair-sprayer for.Yes, I really am that mean.Yes, I am aware that this is probably the shortest chapter on fanfiction.Yes, I **will** get the next chapter up sooner.Okay, enough already with _yes_!The most important point I have to make is this:If you like this thing, for Heaven's sake **tell me so!**

Yes, I know that this is getting longer than the actual chapter.

Oops.

Rose-Bud


	7. Chapter 7

After several minutes of cleaning up broken glass, and putting Band-Aids on Joshua and Joy, Celeste came back up, with a puzzled look on her face."I can't find it."

"Joseph!"Kaye shouted,"What'd ya do with the water sprayer?I know you took it!"

"I hid it.You won't ever find it!"Apparently, Joseph was still thinking of the CD.

"Celeste.Go get it from him."Kaye sounded almost as tired as I was.

When Celeste had taken off again, Kaye turned to me with an apologetic smile."I'm sorry.We don't usually treat our sitters this bad.But our cousins just took off for Disney World, and those brats are still mad that they couldn't go."

From downstairs we heard Celeste screaming."Tell me, or I'll take Amora away!"

"No!She wants to be with me!"Joseph was shouting too.

"No she doesn't.She only likes me!"

Kaye put her face in her hands."Celeste!Come on, Amora doesn't only like you.She probably hates you, because you never clean out her litter box.Dad always does."

The fight went on for quite a long time, but when Celeste came up the stairs with a cat in her arms, she also had one of those little bottles that spray water.

She threw the bottle at us, and began crooning to her cat."Oh, poor Amora.Did that bad, bad boy hurt you?I rescued you!Poor kitty."She used the same tone of voice people use when they talk to babies, and she looked absolutely stupid.

"Well, thanks."Kaye sounded pretty sarcastic.

When she started down the stairs, I followed, not having the faintest idea what she was doing.

She went into a room with a clothes washer and a huge pile of laundry on the ground.Then she opened a little door in the wall, and I stood completely still.

I hadn't been told that the Smiths had an indoor racquetball court.It was enormous.It was about the size of three small bedrooms, and twice as high.And when I saw a balloon up on the ceiling, I knew why Joshua had come into the kitchen screaming.

There was no chance of getting it.

Was there?

There was.

Kaye lifted that water thing, and sprayed the balloon.After about three minutes it came floating down.

I filed this useful trick away in my memory.

When I took the balloon back to Joshua, Joseph grabbed it.Then Jacob took it from him.

Then Joshua started screaming, then Celeste came and popped the balloon.

Hugs forever to the wonderful people who reviewed!

You are my inspiration.

By the way, the balloon and water sprayer trick does work, and it has been helpful when my brothers let go of their balloons in our indoor racquetball court.;-)

Okay, now that I've taken off the 'disallow anonymous reviews' thing, you have **no excuse!**Review!

Please?

Pretty please?Only if you have something nice to say, of course.If you didn't like my story, buzz off, and let me prove that ignorance is bliss.

Rose-Bud


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, you faithful readers, (and even the not-so-faithful ones)

Thanks for the info on the repeated chapter.J

Something is up with the review notice, and I'm not getting told when a person takes pity on me and reviews…**sniff sniff**

Crazy H, I assure you that your siblings are **nothing** compared to mine!

------------------------------------

Now, I don't think I will ever hear anything to equal the noise those three boys made overthat one, tiny balloon.To appreciate this, you have to understand that I lived in the city most of my life.

I shook my head, amazed that the most noise I'd ever heard would be far out in the country.The Smiths live on five acres, and the nearest neighbor wasn't within shouting distance.(A/N Okay, so I elaborated a little here too.Our neighbors **are** within shouting distance, but it's fiction, right?We do have five acres, though)

I'd thought they were bad before.I was wrong.Of course, this may have something to do with the fact that the racquetball court echoes.Every time you take a step it echoes.It can get a little annoying.

Anyway, you haven't lived until you've heard three children who just had their balloon popped screaming in a room that echoes.Believe me, it's not a fun experience.Particularly when you are supposed to calm them down.

"Joseph!Joshua!Jacob!"

I rarely yell.But I was going out of my mind.The boys didn't pay the slightest bit of attention.I guess they were used to it.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

**"SHUT UP!"**Whoa.Celeste can really shout. 

However, true to form, the boys didn't acknowledge us at all.

(Kristy Quote:I'll bet Alan Gray (sp?) was like that when he was little.)

I surveyed the scene, and decided that there was no way I could make them be quiet.

Thus concluding, I made my way to the kitchen where Celeste had hidden several seconds earlier.She was assembling the ingredients for some strange creation."Yo," I said tiredly.She ignored me.

"Yo!"I said, a little louder.Still no response.**"What are you making?"**She didn't even blink."CELESTE!" I waved a hand in her face.Now, I find it hard to believe that she went deaf and blind all at once, unfortunately.

Even worse, I couldn't prove that this hunch was correct.

So I just returned the compliment, and didn't even look up when a **crash!** came from the area where she was working.

Not even when she turned on the oven.(Kaye had made it plain that we **weren't** supposed to use the oven)

Not even when she took out her food and began chewing with her mouth open.

Not even when…wait, I did look up when she 'accidentally' spilled some water on me."Celeste!What has gotten into you?"

Kaye sauntered in."I'll tell you what's gotten into her; the true Celeste Smith has finally surfaced.No more hiding behind that 'Miss Perfect' mask, you are seeing **her!**"

When Kaye starts talking like that, it's best to follow the age-old admonition "Run for cover!"It means she is feeling pretty annoyed.Her insults are unequaled.I guess being the oldest of six kids does that to you. 

"Ice cream, ice cream ice cream!!!" Jacob came dancing into the kitchen carrying a box of ice cream.(what a surprise…)

"Yes, we know you scream, please lower your voice!" Kaye snapped.

Celeste tried to grab the ice cream, but Jacob wasn't letting it go **anywhere**.He held onto that box like his life depended on it."This isn't for now!" Celeste shouted.

"I will eat it!" Joseph threatened, having come up behind Jacob.

Kaye glared at all, and very slowly said,"If you do not hand that over, Jacob, I will **bury the Star Wars CD!**" 

Judging from the horrified looks on the boys faces, they believed her.And this gave Celeste the chance to snatch the box.As she headed out of the room, I asked Kaye in a mystified way,"Where did they get it?They weren't by the freezer."

"Oh," Kaye said causally, the danger gone out of her voice."They went to the shop." 

Okay; read this story, and try to figure out the moral.I'll even put here for the more blind of you.

As is my crazy habit, I threw my jeans into the laundry room without emptying the pockets.About two hours later, my mom called me in there and held up a little slip of paper."Why did you write 'reviews' all over this coupon?"I sort of froze and stammered something to the effect of"Uh… er… um… you see…Uh…"

The point is, I am going crazy by lack of reviews!Admitted, there are some kind people out there who **did** review.And I'm eternally grateful to them.But not enough!

Much love,

Rose-Bud


	9. Chapter 9

Yes, I'm aware that it's been nearly a month.::cringes::The reason it's taken so long is quite basic:my favorite authors haven't been writing!WWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!If you look closely, you'll see that the fic World Wizardry, in the Young Wizards section, was last updated on Valentines Day.That's a long time ago.

Yo, all you critics:Will you **please** be more specific?Mostly the person who said that my characters 'seem a little out of place.'I fear that I have but one reply to this: (other than**???!!!**, that is.)Rephrase for precision, then, and only then, can I try to fix whatever the problem is.

And to the other people:I've tried my best to fix the errors you pointed out, but keep in mind that I am not Ann M. Martin, I'm only a humble fanfiction writer.Understood?All right. ____________________________________________________

I was petrified.The shop?They had gone to the **store?!**Okay, so it's hardly likely.They couldn't drive, the closest store **had **to be several miles away…But when you've had the kind of day I was having, you'll believe anything.Including that three boys under the age of ten had walked, all alone, in the dark, about three miles, bought a box of ice cream, and gotten back unescorted by a cop.And all in the space of five minutes.Crazy. 

"I mean, the **shed**.We call the shed the shop 'cause we store an awful lot of food there.You know, for earthquakes and that kind of thing.Natural disasters."Kaye looked alarmed at my expression.But the explanation came as though she'd given it many, many times.

I collapsed into a chair."Oh, my gosh.Oh, my heck.Your brothers…No wonder your mom was in such a hurry to leave."This was spoken in haste, and I didn't realize how rude it sounded until the damage was done.But Kaye wasn't shocked by my none-so-delicate way of putting things.

"Yeah.I know how you feel.Sometimes, I think the reason she won't get a cell phone is so baby-sitters can't call and tell her about their dilemma." 

"Where are the rest of the kids?If they're outside or something…"I jumped at this oversight on my part.No parent, regardless of the nature of their children, likes to come home to dead kids.

"Again."Kaye pointed out, but she followed."Celeste's probably down in her room eating the ice cream, and I'll wager that the boys are pounding at her door," was Kaye's wise prediction.

"**Let us in!We want some!**" 

**"I'll break down the door!" **

Yeah.Sure.But when a bowl of ice cream's on the line, who knows?It was plain to see that these kids would stop at **nothing** in order to get their greedy hands on the ice cream.

That was when something inside me snapped; there I was, Stacey McGill, member of the Baby-sitter's club, letting my charges come dang near killing each other.What was wrong with me?I wasn't sure; the only thing I was certain of was that the past is in the past, and all we can change is the future.

(A/N Please excuse this lame sentiment.)

"Celeste!" I banged on the door."You have one-half minute to have that ice cream **back in the freezer**.**I mean it!**Boys…"I grabbed their arms,"Go into that room.The really big one.Run around, play ball, whatever.**Just go!**"

They resisted me for a moment."She has the iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccccccceeeeeeeee crrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmm!!!!!"Joshua wailed.

"I know." I said grimly."She's not gonna have it for much longer.Get."

They got, not without many backward glances, as though they expected **me** to eat the ice cream in their absence.

"Celeste!Fifteen more seconds!" Kaye sang out.She was enjoying this.

Celeste came out, brushing past us as though we were invisible.

I managed to notice that the ice cream hadn't been opened.That was the best thing I'd seen the whole time I'd been at the job.

I glanced at Kaye."Where's the baby?"

"Um…"Kaye shrugged."I haven't seen her for a while." 

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Okey-dokey.That's it for this chapter.If you reviewed, I hope you know that you have been making me as happy as anyone ever has.Even all that darn constructive criticism can be helpful.I'm going to learn why most authors ask for it someday…I swear I will…

Rose-Bud


	10. Chapter 10 (The final chapter)

Yes, I'm aware that it's been nearly a month

Oh, wow, am I here or not??!!Hmmmm?Gees people, I didn't mean to take so long, honestly I didn't!

Hey, Someone, (who likes my story!I feel so honored!) yes, my siblings really do all that stuff.Their mission in life is to seek out and destroy every intact article of ANY value.:-)Wait a minute, I meant :-(.

Now then, to get to the "BSC fic basher(s)":This is going to be fun, and a special thanks for providing my laugh for the day:

Ahem. We would like to express our opinion of this story in the most strong language possible. HOWEVER, AS this is a family site, this is not an option available to us. NEVERTHELESS, we would like to say that we sincerely hope this is not meant to be a serious "drama" story as we both found it very boring and senseless.

My dearest imbecile(s), please look up.Do you see how the genre is "**general**?"If I had meant it to be a drama story, it **would have been up there!**

We are both huge fans of the Babysitters Club stories and both own a complete collection of all the books.

Now, THAT is a dumb thing to blow your allowance on.*Shouting, so her friend can hear*DID YOU CATCH THAT?BSC BOOKS!**NOT** BARRY MANILOW RECORDS!

We also both have the Movie 

Ahem.(To echo your earlier sentiment)I would like to point out that movie should not be capitalized.And since you don't claim to be Claudia…

and the entire television series recorded on video and audio cassette. In addition to this, we are both founding members of................THE BABYSITTERS CLUB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! That's RIGHT! It is I, Kristy and I, Dawn!

Hello?Dawn was not a founding member.She came in later, remember?

Yes, and we would like to remind you to think twice before trifling with us again.

Okay, now I'm scared.*Mock shaking commences*

Especially our friend Stacey. YOU DON'T KNOW HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is an extremely sensitive person who is deeply hurt by your vicious, that's right, vicious and heartless portrayal of her character! . We would like to remind you that this is a REAL person with REAL feelings and we will be sending YOU, yes, YOU,

Excuse my ignorance, but why do you keep repeating words?Do you think I can't catch the first time?You're wrong.

the bills for her intense counseling sessions. Thank you.

You're welcome, though I can't imagine what for.

- BSC ( fanfic ) bashers ()

Anyway, you have inspired me to post the chapter that I wrote about a month ago.

I rolled my eyes, hit my forehead, winced, and went up the stairs in search of the baby.Determining that she wasn't there, I went back down, and found Kaye carrying a screaming baby out of her room, and plunking her none-to-gently into a chair."You—dumb—kid—stay—out—of—my—room!" she told Joy, in no uncertain terms."If—you—break—one—more—thing—I—will—I'll—I'll—do—something—desperate!" 

Dreading the worst, I risked a glance into Kaye's room.What I saw was… nothing."Kaye?"I ventured."What'd Joy do?"

"She tore the pages out of this book."Kaye held up the 'ruined' book in exasperation.

I glanced at it."Kaye, those can be taped back together," I said reasonably.

"The book today and the cat I got at Rebecca's birthday party tomorrow," Kaye replied.

The cat she had gotten at Rebecca's party?Whatever.

But I didn't have to ask, as from upstairs I heard a _thud._

Straining to catch any sound from upstairs, I heard exactly what I didn't want to:"Uh-oh Joseph, you broke it.Don't step in it, you'll cut your feet.**You'll cut your feet, I said!Get away from there!**"

Kaye and I looked at each other, and took off upstairs.

Kaye headed for a room at the very end of the hall, and cringed."Oh _no._They broke Mom's antique vase.I can't believe this, I can't."

I looked at the shards of glass on the carpet, and shook my head.There was no way at all that those bits of glass would be fixable.I brushed the hair out of my eyes."Um, people, where's the vacuum?"I asked, picking up the larger pieces.Celeste walked out the room, and came back with a vacuum.

"Here," she said, pushing it in my direction. 

"Thanks," I replied.I looked around for an electric outlet, and plugged in the vacuum.

Several minutes later, when the room had no more broken glass on the ground, I led everyone back to the computer room.Sitting everyone down at a computer, I said, "Okay, do something, but don't leave this room."

After about a half-hour of blessed quiet, Jacob wanted to know, "Will you come back and baby-sit for us again?"

I started to answer, but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell.I have never related to the saying 'saved by the bell' so very much as I did then.

"MOM'S HOME!"Joseph screamed.

"Stampede," Kaye muttered.And, indeed, that was what it sounded like.

I dragged myself to the door."Hi Mrs. Smith," I said.

"Hi Stacey.Were they good for you?"

There was no polite answer to that.But Kaye spoke up."Mom, they were even worse than normal."

"Um," I added.

Boring ending?Oh yes.Boring CHAPTER?Duh.So what was the point?I really and honestly couldn't tell you.Guess.

I am sorry that this chapter was sort of hurried.It being the last chapter, I should have worked on it harder, but oh well.

Okay.Just to finish in a finished way, let me assure you of several things.One, Stacey did tell that the vase was broken.Two, Mrs. Smith didn't make her pay for it.Three, Stacey got her pay, which she well deserved.


End file.
